For anyone familiar with American movies or imagery from the 1980s, teenagers walking around with battery powered tape players (or two-in-ones as they were referred to as here) were all the rage. Boomboxes, as they were popularly known as, were carried on the shoulder and served as a proud reminder to everyone about the owner?s rebellious streak, non conformity, ?sticking it to the man? and all that. The music that played on it was just an aside.
Altec Lansing?s inMotion MIX iMT 800 has an unbelievably long name, but it?s also trying to recapture some of that past glory; it is, for all practical purposes, a digital boombox. The tape player has been replaced by the ubiquitous iPod dock. For anyone bold enough to carry it around, it features a grab handle on the top, two grab handles on the sides and suitably ?over-the-top? styling with brushed aluminium accents, bold colours and a futuristic design.
The iPod/iPhone dock takes price of place and a small slider holds the iPod in place if you?re moving it around. You get the usual suite of iPod docking adapters for various iPods. The unit has dual AUX inputs, so you can always plug in a friend?s iPod, MP3 player or phone if you want to, without disturbing your own iPod. The MIX is there in the name because of the dual 3.5 mm inputs (two cables are supplied in the box); your friends can cue up music tracks. The handy infrared remote controls basic functions like volume, power and track change. It even has a clip to mount onto a belt or handbag and can be stowed away in the handy slot on top of the system.
There are many speakers on the unit; two tweeters, two mid-range drivers, one 5.25-inch subwoofer and a 5.25-inch passive radiator. In a nutshell, this thing can get loud! Probably enough to permanently damage your hearing if you?re stupid enough to keep it on your shoulder on a regular basis. It operates on both AC power and on D size batteries. To power it on the move, you?ll need 8 x D size alkaline batteries. The device won?t charge your iPod while it?s on battery power, but with a battery life of about 24 hours (mid volume levels), there?s no reason to complain. With battery life like that, it?s great for camping trips, picnics, to carry down to the local party and for general outdoors fun.
Just like the good old two-in-one, an extendable FM radio antenna is attached, and needs to be extended for proper reception. There are four FM presets which can be an irritant (in NCR for example, there are 12 radio stations). Audio tweakers will like the 7-band graphic equaliser with presets and manual tuning. The music quality is not audiophile grade, but will do just fine for most popular music today (read: hip-hop, trance, house, club, dance and pop). It doesn?t deliver earth-shattering bass, but is way better than most portable systems.
The price is unjustified though. For something that costs $215 on Amazon (and is even available through eBay India?s Global EasyBuy programme for Rs 16k all inclusive), the Rs 23k asking price is way too high. Though in its favour, most other battery-powered iPod docks are quite feeble. The only thing that can compare in terms of sound is the Bose SoundDock Portable, which is priced at a very similar Rs 24k. But the audience for both will be vastly different. Buy it if you need loud music on the go.
? CyberMedia www.LD2.in
Mail:talkLD@cybermedia.co.in